Author: Aldous Huxley. Style: Precise. Calculated. Eloquent. Clever. Witty. Easy to read and to the point.
Tone: Inane. Huxley purposely dumbs himself down when speaking in the voice of the New World People. When he writes, it comes off as almost light hearted in a way. However the underlying tone is one of warning and despair for the future of society and the happiness of mankind. It is bitter, caustic and pessimisstic.
Purpose: Warning the future generation of the dangers of technology.
Historical Context:
When Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931 it was at the beginning of a worldwide depression. The American stock market crash of 1929 had closed banks, wiped out many people's savings, and caused unemployment rates to soar. To make matters worse, American farmers were suffering from some of the worst droughts in history, leading to widespread poverty and migration out of the farming belt. People longed for the kind of economic security that Huxley gives to the citizens of his fictional world.
All of these economic upheavals affected Huxley's vision of the future. First, he saw Ford's production and management techniques as revolutionary, and chose to make Ford not just a hero to the characters in his novels but an actual god. Huxley also saw that technology could eventually give workers enormous amounts of leisure time. The result could be more time spent creating art and solving social problems, but Huxley's Controllers, perceiving those activities as threatening to the order they've created, decide to provide foolish distrac-tions to preoccupy their workers. These future workers do their duty and buy more and more material goods to keep the economy rolling, even to the point of throwing away clothes rather than mending them.
Notable Points of Discussion: Huxley taught George Orwell. Conditioning and Predestining. The idea of always being happy has, in fact, degraded the lives of the people of the New World.
Any Literary Terms or Rhetorical Devices that Categorize the Work: Ironic. Allegorical of the assembly line and technological revolution. Didactic. Full of Allusions. Parodys.
Plot Summary and Character List: THE DIRECTOR OF HATCHERIES AND CONDITIONING ·Fathered John the Savage ·Visited the Savage Reservation with Linda and lost her there. ·Known to Linda as Tomakin (Thomas).
HENRY FOSTER ·Scientist in the London Hatchery. ·Ideal citizen. ·Has a long term affair with Lenina.
LENINA CROWNE ·Young and undeniably pretty. ·Somewhat of a shallow woman. ·Has an affair with Henry Foster. ·Secretly crushes on Bernard Marx. ·Has passionate feelings for John the Savage. ·Beta Plus ·Vaccinator.
THE CONTROLLER, MUSTAPHA MOND ·One of ten World Controllers. ·Keeps Shakespeare and the Bible locked away in his desk drawers. ·Envies those who get to live on an island. ·Once a gift scientist.
BERNARD MARX ·Alpha. ·Alcohol was supposedly added to his blood when he was an embryo, causing him to be smaller than most Alphas and therefore slightly an outcast. ·Loves Lenina and takes her to the Savage Reservation. ·Unhappy with the world.
HELMHOLTZ WATSON ·Alpha Plus. ·Nonconformist. ·Befriends Marz and John. ·Laughs at Shakespeare.
JOHN THE SAVAGE
loves lenina
comes from the savage reservation to see the New World.
son of the director and linda.
befriends helmholtz.
gets sick of life and runs away to an abandoned light house where he then hangs himself after his want for lenina overpowers him.
Author: Aldous Huxley.
Style: Precise. Calculated. Eloquent. Clever. Witty. Easy to read and to the point.
Tone: Inane. Huxley purposely dumbs himself down when speaking in the voice of the New World People. When he writes, it comes off as almost light hearted in a way. However the underlying tone is one of warning and despair for the future of society and the happiness of mankind. It is bitter, caustic and pessimisstic.
Purpose: Warning the future generation of the dangers of technology.
Historical Context:
When Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931 it was at the beginning of a worldwide depression. The American stock market crash of 1929 had closed banks, wiped out many people's savings, and caused unemployment rates to soar. To make matters worse, American farmers were suffering from some of the worst droughts in history, leading to widespread poverty and migration out of the farming belt. People longed for the kind of economic security that Huxley gives to the citizens of his fictional world.
All of these economic upheavals affected Huxley's vision of the future. First, he saw Ford's production and management techniques as revolutionary, and chose to make Ford not just a hero to the characters in his novels but an actual god. Huxley also saw that technology could eventually give workers enormous amounts of leisure time. The result could be more time spent creating art and solving social problems, but Huxley's Controllers, perceiving those activities as threatening to the order they've created, decide to provide foolish distrac-tions to preoccupy their workers. These future workers do their duty and buy more and more material goods to keep the economy rolling, even to the point of throwing away clothes rather than mending them.
Notable Points of Discussion: Huxley taught George Orwell. Conditioning and Predestining. The idea of always being happy has, in fact, degraded the lives of the people of the New World.
Any Literary Terms or Rhetorical Devices that Categorize the Work: Ironic. Allegorical of the assembly line and technological revolution. Didactic. Full of Allusions. Parodys.
Plot Summary and Character List:
THE DIRECTOR OF HATCHERIES AND CONDITIONING
· Fathered John the Savage
· Visited the Savage Reservation with Linda and lost her there.
· Known to Linda as Tomakin (Thomas).
HENRY FOSTER
· Scientist in the London Hatchery.
· Ideal citizen.
· Has a long term affair with Lenina.
LENINA CROWNE
· Young and undeniably pretty.
· Somewhat of a shallow woman.
· Has an affair with Henry Foster.
· Secretly crushes on Bernard Marx.
· Has passionate feelings for John the Savage.
· Beta Plus
· Vaccinator.
THE CONTROLLER, MUSTAPHA MOND
· One of ten World Controllers.
· Keeps Shakespeare and the Bible locked away in his desk drawers.
· Envies those who get to live on an island.
· Once a gift scientist.
BERNARD MARX
· Alpha.
· Alcohol was supposedly added to his blood when he was an embryo, causing him to be smaller than most Alphas and therefore slightly an outcast.
· Loves Lenina and takes her to the Savage Reservation.
· Unhappy with the world.
HELMHOLTZ WATSON
· Alpha Plus.
· Nonconformist.
· Befriends Marz and John.
· Laughs at Shakespeare.
JOHN THE SAVAGE
loves lenina
comes from the savage reservation to see the New World.
son of the director and linda.
befriends helmholtz.
gets sick of life and runs away to an abandoned light house where he then hangs himself after his want for lenina overpowers him.